The Uptick in the Pumpkin Saga

We all have our reasons for getting up in the morning. For me, it's multiple things such as the responsibility of my job, my family, and the daily upkeep of my eight rescue babies. Other reasons include those things that mark the passing of time - the change of foods during each season; the first zinnia that pops open; the first drink of summer; the first apple-anything of Autumn; the first snow of winter . . .  that list goes on and on. I'm confident most people have those defining milestones that represent the passing of time for them.

I do a remarkable job of overkill on one particular item - the growing season of pumpkins. So, today, that begins. If you bother to read this blog, brace yourself. It can be an obsession for me. What started out as tiny seeds has turned into several hills of plants growing and spreading at rapid rate. It's odd, too, because these are an autumn harvest food, yet we haven't even picked the first truly ripe tomato! There's the overlap that takes place in September where the pumpkins are getting a hint of orange yet we are still getting some ripe tomatoes. It's a nice transition and sometimes comes with that nearly-perfect, much cooler day, a huge gift after the high heat of summer. Anyway, the plants are doing nicely so far. Nothing has infiltrated their operations, and, as you can see, they're just growing right along!

I've been worried about bees lately, but in this zinnia close-up, you can see that they are finally arriving! Whew. There still aren't as many of them as I had hoped for, but the garden flower patches are just now really getting huge, so I think with a bit more time, we'll have us a nice gang of bees hanging out and doing what they do best. All bees are pollinators but, of course, the honey bee is particularly spectacular in its efforts to keep the earth moving along and not dying out. 

I thought about keeping bees at some point, and I still may, but that's going to have to be a retirement thing, I think. Not enough hours in the day as it is. One thing I did not think about when we planted all these huge flower beds was the dead-heading. I'm usually pretty enthusiastic about it in the beginning and have been known to go out in the early hours of the morning before it gets terribly hot and dead head the zinnias, particularly. The giant red zinnia patch is going to be tricky. Once it fills in, how on earth am I going to get to the center of the patch to deadhead??! May not have thought this through very well.

Next up - bee feed. Isn't this beautiful?? Look at those delicate flowers! This is the first year we have put out these seeds. My dad put them in, and they're just gorgeous. They're as delicate as they look, too. That golden yellow-orange is just the BEST. 

Funny thing - the bees prefer my other flowers at the moment. Not sure if they've not discovered this yet? Maybe I should put some signs in the yard with directions pointing them to the row of bee feed. Sadly, I don't speak bee, so my signs would not make sense to them! It would just be human babble!

Here is the bee feed in a row, for perspective. As you can see, it grows out bushy and the flowers are quite small and cupped. This will get a bit taller as it grows. I'm keeping an eye on it to see if the bees finally decide to enjoy it. If not, we may try something else next year, although I do love those little flowers.

Yellow squash is plentiful this year. Now, I cook this stuff old-school - either fried in the skillet with butter, onion, salt and pepper, or smothered in a casserole. It probably does cancel out the health aspects of fresh, steamed squash, but when you grow up in the South, the fried or casserole squash is what appeals to you most. I keep it simple, too. Have you ever noticed how much work a casserole can be?? Lots of chopping sometimes! That's just not for me. However, I gotta say, for summer casseroles, if they aren't topped with bread crumbs or crushed crackers rolled in butter, then forget it! Not worth it.

Speaking of food, I'm still tempted to make a green tomato pie this weekend. I'm not making the pie crust, though. I'll buy that. I make the worst pie crust ever!

My July sky is in full force right now. It's just beautiful (well, yesterday was cloudy all day long, but for the most part, it's been gorgeous). This was taken two days ago. Cannot wait for fresh corn. I do love corn tassels against a rich, blue sky. I can't decide what I'm craving more this year- Corn in a Cup or homemade Cream Corn.

One of my best memories is from when I was a teenager and had spent the night with a friend. It was in North Carolina in the summer, and they lived in an old house out in the country. No A/C, just open windows and fans. We woke up - as teenagers do - around 10 a.m. that Saturday. That house was so balmy and so calm without the cold, artificial air that you get with air conditioning. My friend's mom had made homemade biscuits and homemade cream corn. For breakfast, she served us those biscuits split in half, buttered, topped with cream corn and drizzled with honey. Oh. My. Word. To this day, I still eat my cream corn that way. Every time I do, I'm a teenager again, with that box fan breeze and open windows in July; my bones aren't aching from the artificial air circulating, and my skin feels sooooo good with that touch of summer tan. It's a wonderful memory, and I will always, always be grateful to them for introducing me to the very best way to eat Cream Corn. For them, it was a normal thing - part of the mundane of life, I'm sure. The corn is ripe, so this is what you do - you eat it a million different ways, freeze some of it, and give some of it away. But what a fantastic way to enjoy fresh, tender, milky corn. Nearly 35 years later, and I'm still living that memory.

Looks like we go to 88 today with clouds and sun. I absolutely love a summer day where the sun stays behind the clouds a lot. You get to be warm to the bones without feeling like you're dying in the direct heat! I don't really have a food plan today, but I do have a carton of Frosty Blue Cream Sodas in my fridge. I'm thinking about that, but I'm also thinking about a Sonic cherry limeade. I haven't had one in ages, as I'm addicted to the Ocean Water. But today, I may get that cherry limeade. After all, Sonic also has tater tots . . . . just sayin'.

Wherever you are today, I hope your weather is calm with a nice breeze. In these days of uncertainty, it's amazing how a perfect weather day can bring us hope and help us feel more centered. At least it does for me, and I'm a firm believer that if you can stay centered, you can handle most of what comes your way. I say most because, let's face it - sometimes stuff comes our way and we need the help and prayers of others to get us through it! Love to you on this eighth day of July 2020. The days are going so quickly. Don't forget to look up at your July sky!